For election coverage you need only look online

Fred Facker

Published 6:00 pm, Tuesday, March 9, 2004

This timing challenge gives us a perfect opportunity to utilize this publication's secondary medium - the World Wide Web.

The Internet has revolutionized the way politicians are campaigning this year. Most candidates had web sites up and running before they even announced their candidacy. Want to know more about a candidate? You don't even need to know the web address for their site. Simply type their name into a search engine like Google or Yahoo and a convenient link to their site comes right up.

The sites have definitely made things easier for the media. We can doublecheck name spellings, download pictures and some candidates even list quotes they've made regarding certain topics for use in any publication that might need a quick sound bite.

E-mail has also played a large role in the most recent campaign. Candidates are able to send an update to hundreds of news sources at once with a single click whereas faxing each news outlet could have taken hours.

Of course, on the flip side of it all, nothing is stopping someone from creating a web site or e-mail to campaign against a candidate.

I'm pretty sure it's a safe bet to say Rep. Nick Lampson won the Democratic nomination for District 2, but if you're wondering how the Republican primaries came out, check our web site at www.the1960sun.com for all the details.

In the case of a run-off election, another candidate forum will be held Tuesday, March 23, at Wyndehaven Terrace, 12716 Cutten Road at 7 p.m. This forum will be hosted by the 1960 Area Republican Club, Texas Tea Party of Republican Women, Northwest Forest Republican Women, Cherry Tree Republicans and Tomball Pachyderms.

Fred Facker welcomes your comments or letters to the editor at 1960editorial@hcnonline.com.